The 1,929-square-kilometre (745 sq mi) municipality is the 41st largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Vefsn is the 91st most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 13,342. The municipality's population density is 7.3 inhabitants per square kilometre (19/sq mi) and its population has increased by 0.7% over the previous 10-year period.[4][5]
History
Part of the city park in Mosjøen, Vefsn municipality.
The municipality of Vefsn was established on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). In 1862, the vast eastern district of Vefsn (population: 921) was separated from Vefsn to become the new municipality of Hattfjelldal. This left Vefsn with 5,051 residents. In 1876, the town of Mosjøen (population: 379) was separated from Vefsn to become a separate municipality. This left Vefsn with 4,672 residents.
In 1927, Vefsn municipality was split into three: the small northern district (population: 964) became the new municipality of Drevja and the large southern district (population: 1,746) became the new municipality of Grane. After the split, Vefsn had 3,119 residents remaining. In 1939, a small area of Vefsn (population: 45) was transferred to neighboring town of Mosjøen.
During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1962, the municipality of Vefsn (population: 5,358) was merged with the neighboring town of Mosjøen (population: 4,628) and the neighboring municipalities of Drevja (population: 1,001) and Elsfjord (population: 920) to form a new, larger municipality of Vefsn. On 1 January 1995, the mainland areas of the neighboring Alstahaug Municipality (population: 70) were transferred to Vefsn.[6]
Name
The post office was named VEFSEN in 1859.
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the river Vefsna (Old Norse: Vefsnar) which flows through the municipality into the Vefsnfjorden (Old Norse: Vefsnir). The meaning of the river name is unknown, but it possibly comes from the old word vefja which means "to wrap" or "to wind around".[7] Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled Vefsen. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Vefsn.[8]
Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 13 September 1974. The official blazon is "Sable, a rooster argent armed gules" (Norwegian: På svart bunn en sølv hane). This means the arms have a black field (background) and the charge is a rooster. The rooster has a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The rooster is also armed which means its claws, beak, and comb are colored red. The rooster is a symbol for watchfulness and alertness. The arms were designed by Arthur Gustavsson.[9][10][11]
The coat of arms was originally adopted by the municipality of Mosjøen on 25 March 1960. In 1962, Mosjøen was merged with Vefsn, Drevja, and Elsfjord to form a new, larger Vefsn municipality. After the merger, the old arms of Mosjøen were chosen for the new municipality. Since the arms officially became obsolete after the merger, they were re-granted in 1974.[10]
The bird watcher that visits Vefsn soon realizes that it will take more than a day to cover all the interesting habitats and birding areas. Here you will find areas of virtually untouched coniferouswoodlands, both inland and along the coast. The Skjørlegda nature reserve is a good example of woodland protection. Here you will find a virtually untouched coniferous forest covering the Eiterå valley. The valley stretches inland to a higher mountainous habitat that is also worth checking.
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Vefsn is made up of 29 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.
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